ELT ÖABT& ENGİN HOCA LITERARY GENRES AND FORMS REVISION
occurrences in the location of that culture.
PROSE
Fairy Tales: Fairy tales, also known as
wonder tales or märchen (from the
German), are a sub-genre of folktales
involving magical, fantastic or wonderful
episodes, characters, events, or
symbols. Like all folktales they are
narratives that are not believed to be true
(fictional stories), often in timeless settings
(once upon a time) in generic, unspecified
places (the woods), with one-dimensional
characters (completely good or bad). They
function to entertain, inspire, and enlighten
us. “Rapunzel”.
Myth: A myth is a story that comes from
an ancient culture and often includes
supernatural elements. These elements may
be anything from talking animals to people
with superhuman powers to the
interference of gods and goddesses in
human affairs. Myths traditionally were
created to explain the origins of the world
or of belief systems, practices, or natural
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“Greek and Roman myths.”
Fable: A fable is a short piece of fiction
that features animals in the role of
the protagonist and usually includes or
illustrates a moral. A fable can also have
other inanimate objects, mythical
creatures, or forces of nature as main
characters. The distinguishing feature of a
fable is
the anthropomorphism or personification i
nvolved that leads to a moral lesson being
taught. At times, this moral lesson is
summed up at the end of the fable in a
short maxim. “La Fontaine”.
Folk Tale: Traditional folk tales were the
oral tradition of adults. Stories about
peoples' lives and imaginations as they
struggled with their fears and anxieties by
telling tales. Probably helped them to
better be able to struggle with them in real
life. Folktales include myths, legends,
anecdotes, tall stories and fairy tales.
Novel: an invented prose narrative of
considerable length and a certain
complexity that deals imaginatively with
human experience, usually through a
connected sequence of events involving a
group of persons in a specific setting.
Within its broad framework, the genre of
the novel has encompassed an extensive
range of types and
styles: picaresque, epistolary, Gothic, roma
ELT ÖABT& ENGİN HOCA LITERARY GENRES AND FORMS REVISION MODADİL MALATYA

ntic, realist, historical—to name only some told via a series of documents. The word
of the more important ones. epistolary comes from Latin where
‘epistola’ means a letter. Letters are the
Types of Novels
most common basis for epistolary novels
• Realistic Novel: A fictional attempt but diary entries are also popular
to give the effect of realism. This sort of Examples: Samuel
novel is sometimes called a novel of Richardson’s Pamela and Clarissa, Bram
manner. A realistic novel can Stoker’s Dracula, Alice Walker’s The
be characterized by its complex characters Color Purple and Bridget Jones’ Diary.
with mixed motives that are rooted in
• Bildungsroman: German terms that
social class and operate according to
indicates a growth. This
highly developed social structure. The
fictional autobiography concerned with the
characters in realistic novel interact with
development of the protagonist’s mind,
other characters and undergo plausible and
spirit, and characters from childhood to
everyday experiences. Examples: Thirteen
adulthood. Examples: Jane Eyre by
Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Looking for
Charlotte Bronte, David Copperfield by
Alaska by John Green.
Charles Dickens, The Magic Mountain by
• Picaresque Novel: A picaresque
Thomas Mann etc.
novel relates the adventures of an
• Gothic Novel: Gothic novel
eccentric or disreputable hero in episodic
includes terror, mystery, horror, thriller,
form. The genre gets its name from the
supernatural, doom, death, decay, old
Spanish word picaro, or "rogue."
haunted buildings with ghosts and so on.
Examples: Rudyard Kipling's Kim (1901),
Examples: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein,
Henry Fielding’s The History of Tom
John William Polidori’s The Vampyre,
Jones, a Foundling (1749),
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Castle of
• Historical Novel: A Historical
Otranto by Horace Walpole,
novel is a novel set in a period earlier than
• Autobiographical Novel:
that of the writing. Examples:
An autobiographical novel is a novel based
Thackeray's Vanity Fair, Charles
on the life of the author. Examples:
Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, George
Charles Dickens’ David Coppefield, Great
Eliot's Romola and Charles
Expectations, D. H. Lawrence’s Sons and
Kingsley's Westward Ho!
Lovers,Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, Ralph
• Epistolary Novel: Epistolary fiction
Ellison ‘s Invisible Man, Maya Angelou’
is a popular genre where the narrative is

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s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ,
Virginia Wolfe’s The Light House etc.
• Satirical Novel: Satire is loosely
defined as art that ridicules a specific topic
in order to provoke readers into changing
their opinion of it. By attacking what they
see as human folly, satirists usually imply
their own opinions on how the thing being
attacked can be improved.
Examples: George Orwell’s Animal
Farm, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s
Travel, Joseph Heller’s Catch 22, Mark
Twin’s The Adventure of Huckleberry
Finn,
• Allegorical Novel: An allegory is
a story with two levels of meaning- surface
meaning and symbolic meaning. The
symbolic meaning of an allegory can be
political or religious, historical or
philosophical. Examples: John
Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress , William
Golding's The Lord of the Flies, Edmund
Spenser's The Faerie Queene etc.
• Novella: A novella is a short,
narrative, prose fiction. As a literary
genre, the novella’s origin lay in the early
Renaissance literary work of the Italians
and the French. As the etymology suggests,
novellas originally were news of town and
country life worth repeating for amusement
and edification. It is shorter than novel and
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longer than short story. Examples: Joseph
Conrad’s Heart of Darkness,
• Detective Fiction: Detective
fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and
mystery fiction in which an investigator or
a detective—either professional or
amateur—investigates a crime, often
murder. Examples: Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle’ A Study in Scarlet ( Sherlock
Holmes), Satyajit Roy’s Sonar
Kella(Feluda), G. K. Chesterton’s The
Blue Cross (Father Brown), Dr. Nihar
Ranjan Gupta’s Kalo Bhramar (Kiriti)
• Stream of Consciousness Novel or
Psychological Novel: Psychological novels
are works of fiction that treat the internal
life of the protagonist (or several or all
characters) as much as (if not more than)
the external forces that make up the plot.
The phrase “Stream of Consciousness” was
coined by William James in his Principles
of Psychology (1890), to describe the flow
of thought of the waking mind. Examples:
Virginia Wolfe’s To the Lighthouse, Mrs.
Dolloway, James Joyce’s Ulysses, D. H.
Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers, The
Rainbow.
• Roman á these/ Social Fiction/
Political Novel: The genre focussed on
possible development of societies, very
often dominated by totalitarian
governments. This type of novels must
have social and political message. The
term generally refers to fiction in Europe
ELT ÖABT& ENGİN HOCA LITERARY GENRES AND FORMS REVISION
and the Soviet Union reacting to
Communist rule. Examples: George
Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four,
Huxley’s Brave New World etc.
• Prose Romance: This is a novel that
is often set in the historical past with a plot
that emphasizes adventure and an
atmosphere removed from reality. The
characters in a prose romance are either
sharply drawn as villains or heroes,
masters or victims; while the protagonist is
isolated from the society. Examples: The
Story of the Pillow by Shen Jiji, and The
Governor of the Southern Tributary
State by LiGongzuo.
• Novel of Incident: In a novel of
incident the narrative focuses on what the
protagonist will do next and how the story
will turn out. Examples: The Wizard of
Oz, Star Wars etc.
• Novel of Character: A novel of
character focuses on the protagonist’s
motives for what he/she does and how
he/she turns out.Examples: Jane
Austen’s Emma.
• Dime Novel: Dime novels were
short works of fiction, usually focused on
the dramatic exploits of a single heroic
character. As evidenced by their name,
dime novels were sold for a dime
(sometimes a nickel), and featured
colourful cover illustrations. They were
bound in paper, making them
light, portable, and somewhat ephemeral.
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Example: Dime novels are, at least in
spirit, the antecedent of today's mass
market paperbacks, comicbooks, and even
television shows and movies based on the
dime novel genres. Buffalo Ball.
• Sentimental Novel:
The sentimental novel or the novel of
sensibility is an 18th-century literary genre
which celebrates the emotional and
intellectual concepts of sentiment,
sentimentalism, and sensibility. Examples:
Samuel Richardson's Pamela, or Virtue
Rewarded (1740),
Oliver Goldsmith's Vicar of
Wakefield (1766), Laurence
Sterne's Tristram Shandy (1759–
67), Sentimental Journey (1768), Henry
Brooke's The Fool of Quality (1765–70),
Henry Mackenzie's The Man of
Feeling (1771). Continental example
is Jean-Jacques Rousseau's novel Julie.
• Utopian Novel: A utopia is a
community or society possessing highly
desirable or perfect qualities. It is a
common literary theme, especially in
speculative fiction and science fiction.
Examples: Utopia by Thomas
Moore, Laws (360 BC) by Plato, New
Atlantis (1627) by Sir Francis
Bacon,Robinson Crusoe (1719) by Daniel
Defoe, Gulliver's Travels (1726) by
Jonathan Swift.
• Graphic Novel: Graphic novels are,
simply defined, book-length comics.
ELT ÖABT& ENGİN HOCA LITERARY GENRES AND FORMS REVISION
Sometimes they tell a single, continuous
narrative from first page to last; sometimes
they are collections of shorter stories or
individual comic strips. Comics are
sequential visual art, usually with text, that
are often told in a series of rectangular
panels.1 Despite the name, not all comics
are funny. Many comics and graphic
novels emphasize drama, adventure,
character development, striking visuals,
politics, or romance over laugh-out-loud
comedy. Examples: Frank
Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight
Returns, The Fantastic Four and X-
Men etc.
• Science Fiction (Sci-Fi): Science
fiction is a genre of speculative fiction
dealing with imaginative concepts such as
futuristic settings, futuristic science and
technology, space travel, time travel, faster
than light travel, parallel universes and
extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often
explores the potential consequences of
scientific and other innovations.
Examples: The War of the Worlds by H.G.
Wells, The Time Machine.
• Anti-Novel: An antinovel is any
experimental work of fiction that avoids
the familiar conventions of the novel, and
instead establishes its own conventions.
Examples: Laurence Sterne's Tristram
Shandy.
• Interactive Novel: The interactive
novel is a form of interactive web fiction.
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In an interactive novel, the reader chooses
where to go next in the novel by clicking
on a piece of hyperlinked text, such as a
page number, a character, or a direction.
Examples: J. K. Rowling’s Harry
Potter Series.
• Fantasy Novel: Stories involving
paranormal magic and terrible monsters
have existed in spoken forms before the
advent of printed literature. Examples: J.
R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, C. S.
Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia.
• Adventure Novel: Adventure
fiction is a genre of fiction in which an
adventure, an exciting undertaking
involving risk and physical danger, forms
the main storyline. Examples: Daniel
Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.
• Children’s Novel: Children's novels
are narrative fiction books written for
children, distinct from collections of
stories and picture books. Examples: The
Christmas Mystery, Charlotte's Web by
E.B. White, James and the Giant
Peach by Roald Dahl.
• Dystopian Novel: A dystopia is an
unpleasant (typically repressive) society,
often propagandized as being utopian.
Examples: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray
Bradbury, The Giver by Lois Lowry etc.
George Orwell 1984 and Brave New
World
ELT ÖABT& ENGİN HOCA LITERARY GENRES AND FORMS REVISION
• Mystery Novel: The mystery genre
is a type of fiction in which a detective, or
other professional, solves a crime or series
of crimes. It can take the form of
a novel or short story. This genre may also
be called detective or crime novels.
Examples: Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci
Code.
Short Story: Brief fictional prose narrative
that is shorter than a novel and that usually
deals with only a few characters. The short
story is usually concerned with a single
effect conveyed in only one or a few
significant episodes or scenes.
Legend: Originated from Latin legendus,
legend means “something which ought to
be read.” According to J. A. Cuddon, a
legend is “a story or narrative that lies
somewhere between myth and historical
fact and which, as a rule, is about a
particular figure or person.” Traditionally,
a legend is a narrative that focuses on a
historically or geographically specific
figure, and describes his exploits. Similar
to a myth, a legend can provide an
etymological narrative, often filling in
historical gaps.
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Difference Between a Legend and a
Myth: There are marked differences
between a legend and a myth. While
legends are made up stories, myths are
stories that answer questions about the
working of natural phenomenon. Myths are
set in olden times, even in pre-historic
times. However, legends are stories about
people and their actions, or deeds they
perform to save their people or nations.
The people mentioned in legends might
have lived in recent times, or sometime in
known history. Legends are told to serve a
specific purpose, and can be based on facts
– but they are not completely true. People
mentioned in a legend might not have
really done what the story of the legend
relates. In some cases, legends change the
historical events
ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE
SUSPENSE: Suspense is a literary device
that authors use to keep their readers’
interest alive throughout the work. It is a
feeling of anticipation that something risky
or dangerous is about to happen. The
purpose of using this type of anxiety in
literature is to make readers more
concerned about the characters, and to
form sympathetic association with them.
Therefore, authors create scenarios that
could force readers to understand, and to
want to read on to see what their beloved
characters face the next.
MOTIF AND THEME: In a literary
work, a motif can be seen as an image,
sound, action, or other figure that has a
symbolic significance, and contributes
ELT ÖABT& ENGİN HOCA LITERARY GENRES AND FORMS REVISION
toward the development of a theme. Motif
and theme are linked in a literary work, but
there is a difference between them. In a
literary piece, a motif is a recurrent image,
idea, or symbol that develops or explains a
theme, while a theme is a central idea or
message
CONFLICT: In literature, conflict is a
literary element that involves a struggle
between two opposing forces, usually
a protagoniSt and an antagonist. Internal
and External Conflicts Careful
examination of some conflict examples
will help us realize that they may be
internal or external. An internal or
psychological conflict arises as soon as
a character experiences two opposite
emotions or desires – usually virtue and
vice, or good and evil – inside him. This
disagreement causes the character to suffer
mental agony, and it develops a unique
tension in a storyline, marked by a lack of
action. External conflict, on the other hand,
is marked by a characteristic involvement
of an action wherein a character finds
himself in struggle with those outside
forces that hamper his progress. The most
common type of external conflict is where
a protagonist fights back against the
antagonist’s tactics that impede his or her
advancement.
FOIL: In literature, a foil is
a character that shows qualities that are
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in contrast with the qualities of another
character. The objective is to highlight the
traits of the other character. The term foil,
though generally being applied to a
contrasting character, may also be used for
any comparison that is drawn to portray a
difference between two things. What we
observe in literature very often is that a foil
is a secondary character who contrasts with
the major character to enhance the
importance of the major character. For
example; Milton’s Paradise Lost, Book I,
is based on the comparison of two
contrasting characters: God and Satan.
Satan, in the entire work, appears as a foil
to God.
MOOD: In literature, mood is a literary
element that evokes certain feelings or
vibes in readers through words and
descriptions. Usually, mood is referred to
as the atmosphere of a literary piece, as it
creates an emotional setting that surrounds
the readers. Mood is developed in a literary
piece through various methods, including
setting, theme, tone, and diction.4
PLOT: Plot is a literary term used to
describe the events that make up a story, or
the main part of a story. These events
relate to each other in a pattern or a
sequence. The structure of a novel depends
on the organization of events in the plot of
the story. Plot is known as the foundation
of a novel or story, around which the
ELT ÖABT& ENGİN HOCA LITERARY GENRES AND FORMS REVISION
characters and settings are built. It is meant
to organize information and events in a
logical manner. When writing the plot of a
piece of literature, the author has to be
careful that it does not dominate the other
parts of the story.
Primary Elements of a Plot: There are
five main elements in a plot.
Exposition or Introduction: This is the
beginning of the story, where characters
and setting are established. The conflict or
main problem is introduced as well.
Rising Action: Rising action which occurs
when a series of events build up to the
conflict. The main characters are
established by the time the rising action of
a plot occurs, and at the same time, events
begin to get complicated. It is during this
part of a story that excitement, tension, or
crisis is encountered.
Climax: In the climax, or the main point of
the plot, there is a turning point of the
story. This is meant to be the moment of
highest interest and emotion, leaving the
reader wondering what is going to happen
next.
Falling Action: Falling action, or the
winding up of the story, occurs when
events and complications begin to resolve.
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The result of the actions of the main
characters are put forward.
Resolution: Resolution, or the conclusion,
is the end of a story, which may occur with
either a happy or a tragic ending.
POINT OF VIEW: Point of view is the
angle of considering things, which shows
us the opinion or feelings of the individuals
involved in a situation. In literature, point
of view is the mode of narration that an
author employs to let the readers “hear”
and “see” what takes place in a
story, poem, or essay. Point of view is a
reflection of the opinion an individual from
real life or fiction has. Examples of point
of view belong to one of these three major
kinds:
1. First person point of view involves
the use of either of the two
pronouns “I” or “we.”
• “I felt like I was getting drowned
with shame and disgrace.”
2. Second person point of view
employs the pronoun “you.”
• “Sometimes you cannot clearly
discern between anger and
frustration.”
3. Third person point of view uses
pronouns like “he,” “she,” “it,”
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“they,” or a name. the third-person

limited, a point of voice that
adheres closely to one character's
perspective, usually the main
character's.

• “ Stewart is a principled
man. He acts by the book and never
lets you deceive him easily.”

4. Omniscient Third Person Types of Character: There are many

he third-person omniscient point of
view is a method of storytelling in
which the narrator knows the
thoughts and feelings of all of
the characters in the story. The
third-person is not the same as
the third-person limited, a point of
voice that adheres closely to one
character's perspective, usually the
main character's.
CHARACTERS: All stories need certain
necessary elements. Without these
elements, literary works often fail to make
sense. For instance, one of the essential
elements of every story is a plot with a
series of events. Another important
element is a character. A character can be
any person, a figure, an inanimate object,
or animal. There are different types of
characters, and each serves its unique
function in a story or a piece of literature.
types of the characters which include:
Confidante: A confidante is someone in
whom the main character confides. He
reveals the central character’s thoughts,
intentions, and personality traits. However,
a confidante need not necessarily be a
person. An animal can also be a
confidante.
Dynamic Character: A dynamic
character changes during the course of
a novel or a story. This change in character
or his/her outlook is permanent. That is
why sometimes a dynamic character is also
called a “developing character.”
Static Character: A static
character remains the same throughout the
whole story. Even the events in a story or
novel do not change character’s outlook,
perceptions, habits, personality, or
motivations.

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Antagonist: An antagonist is a bad guy, or heroine of the story, as the whole plot
an opponent of the protagonist or the main moves around him or her.
character. The action in the story arises
from a conflict between the protagonist Round Character: The round characters
and the antagonist. The antagonist can be a are well-developed and complex figures in
person, an inanimate object, an animal, or a story. They are more realistic, and
nature itself. demonstrate more depth in their
personalities. They can make surprising or
Nemesis: A nemesis is the principal enemy
puzzling decisions, and attract readers’
of the protagonist in a work of literature.
attention. There are many factors that may
Though antagonists can be enemies of the
affect them, and round characters react to
main character, there is a notable
such factors realistically.
difference between an antagonist and a
Flat Character: A flat character does not
nemesis. Antagonists are any characters or
change during a story. Also, he or she
particular situations which create obstacles
usually only reveals one or two personality
for the protagonist. An antagonist may
traits.
even be a “good guy” or have the
protagonist’s best interests at heart, but do
Stock Character: A stock character is a
things so as to thwart the protagonist’s
flat character that is instantly recognizable
actions. A nemesis, on the other hand, is
by readers. Like a flat character, the stock
working against the protagonist because
character does not undergo any
the two are completely at odds in their
development throughout the story.
world-views and purposes. Two nemeses
will often consider the other to represent
Foil Character: In literature, a foil is
all that is wrong with the world. A nemesis
a character that shows qualities that are
will never have the protagonist’s best
in contrast with the qualities of another
interests in mind.
character.

Protagonist: Every story has a NARRATOR: A narrator is the person

protagonist, the main character, who
creates the action of the plot and engages
readers, arousing their empathy and
interest. The protagonist is often a hero or
from whose perspective a story is told. The
narrator narrates the text. A narrator only
exists in fictional texts or in a narrative
poem. A narrator may be a character in the
text; however, the narrator does not have to

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be a character in the text. The point of a
narrator is to narrate a story, i.e., to tell the
story. What the narrator can and cannot see
determines the perspective of the text and
also determines how much the reader
knows.
TONE: Tone, in written composition, is
an attitude of a writer toward a subjeCt or
an audience. Tone is generally conveyed
through the choice of words, or the
viewpoint of a writer on a particular
subject. Every written piece comprises a
central theme or subject matter. The
manner in which a writer approaches this
theme and subject is the tone. The tone can
be formal, informal, serious, comic,
sarcastic, sad, or cheerful, or it may be any
other existing attitude.
SYMBOL: A symbol (pronounced SIM-
bull) is any image or thing that stands for
something else. It could be as simple as a
letter, which is a symbol for a given sound
(or set of sounds). Similarly, every word is
a symbol for the idea it represents. Flags
are symbols for nations. And of course, we
have all sorts of visual symbols that we use
every day.
EPILOGUE (KAPANIŞ) &
PROLOGUE(GİRİŞ) : A prologue is a
separate introductory section that comes
before the main body of a poem, novel, or
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play, and gives some sense as to what’s to
come. There are many different ways in
which the prologue may do this, such as
presenting the main characters
and setting in a straightforward way,
explaining some background event or
events, or give a sense of
the theme or atmosphere of the upcoming
work. An epilogue is a short speech, poem,
dirge, elegy or an event that comes at the
end of a play, a novel or any other literary
piece to close it or better to give it a
finishing touch.
POETRY
ELEMENTS OF POETRY
VERSE (MISRA) : a verse referred to a
single line of a poem. It has also come to
mean any grouping of words in a poem, for
example a stanza or, indeed, an entire
poem.
Rhyming, Metered Verse: Many lines of
poetry, especially from older poems,
contain both rhyme and meter. Rhyme
(repetition of similar sounds) can either
occur at the end of lines in close proximity
(end rhyme), or in the middle of a line
(internal rhyme). Meter is the rhythm of
syllables in a line; the most common meter
in English is iambic pentameter, which
means that there are five iamb units for a
ELT ÖABT& ENGİN HOCA LITERARY GENRES AND FORMS REVISION
total of ten syllables, alternating between
unstressed and stressed syllables.
Iambic Pentameter: Iambic Pentameter is
made up of two words, where pentameter
is a combination of ‘pent,’ which
means five, and ‘meter,’ which means to
measure. Iambic, on the other hand, is a
metrical foot in poetry in which a stressed
syllable is followed by an unstressed
syllable. It means iambic pentameter is a
beat or foot that uses 10 syllables in each
line. Simply, it is a rhythmic pattern
comprising five iambs in each line, like
five heartbeats.
Iambic pentameter is one of the most
commonly used meters in English poetry.
For instance, in the excerpt,
“When I see birches bend to left and right/
Across the line of straighter darker trees…
” (Birches, by Robert Frost), each line
contains five feet, and each foot uses
one iamb.
▪ Blank Verse: Blank verse is written
in strict iambic pentameter, but has no
rhyme scheme.
▪ Free Verse: Free verse contains no
rhyme and no meter.
RHYME SCHEME: RhyMe scheme is
the pattern of rhyme that comes at the end
of each verse or line in poetry. In other
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words, it is the structure of end words of a
verse or line that a poet needs to create
when writing a poem. Many poems are
written in free verse style. Some other
poems follow non-rhyming structures,
paying attention only to the number of
syllables. Thus, it shows that the poets
write poems in a specific type of rhyme
scheme or rhyming pattern. There are
several types of rhyme schemes as given
below.
Types of Rhyme Scheme: There are a
number of rhyme schemes used in poetry;
some of the most popular of which include:
• Alternate rhyme: It is also known
as ABAB rhyme scheme, it rhymes
as “ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH.”
• Ballade: It contains three stanzas
with the rhyme scheme of
“ABABBCBC” followed by
“BCBC.”
• Monorhyme: It is a poem in which
every line uses the same rhyme
scheme.
• Couplet: It contains two-line
stanzas with the “AA” rhyme
scheme, which often appears as
“AA BB CC and DD…”
• Triplet: It often repeats like a
couplet, uses rhyme scheme of
“AAA.”
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• Enclosed rhyme: It uses rhyme

scheme of “ABBA”
• Terza rima rhyme scheme: It uses
tercets, three lines stanzas. Its
interlocking pattern on end words
follows: ABA BCB CDC DED and
so on.
• Keats Odes rhyme scheme: In
his famous odes, Keats has used a
specific rhyme scheme, which is
“ABABCDECDE.”
• Limerick: A poem uses five lines
with a rhyme scheme of
“AABBA.”
• Villanelle: A nineteen-line poem
consisting of five tercets and a
final quatrain. It uses a rhyme
scheme of “A1bA2, abA1, abA2,
abA1, abA2, abA1A2.”
• Free Verse: there is not a rhyme
scheme and regular meter.

STANZA: In poetry, a stanza is a division

of four or more lines having a fixed
length, meter, or rhyming scheme. Stanzas
in poetry are similar to paragraphs
in prose. Both stanzas and paragraphs
include connected thoughts, and are set off
by a space. The number of lines varies in
different kinds of stanzas, but it is
uncommon for a stanza to have more than
twelve lines.
RHYTM: In literature, rhythm is the
pattern of stressed and unstressed beats.
Rhythm is most commonly found in
poetry, though it is also present in some
works of drama and prose. The rhythm of a
poem can be analyzed through the number
of lines in a verse, the number of syllables
in the line, and the arrangement of
syllables based on whether they are long or
short, accented or unaccented. ( RHYME
IS THE REPETITION OF SIMILAR

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SOUNDS WHILE RHYTM REFERS
TON THE MUSICAL BEAT)
DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE:
Dramatic monologue means self-
conversation, speech or talks which
includes interlocutor presented
dramatically. It means a person, who is
speaking to himself or someone else
speaks to reveal specific intentions of his
actions. However, in literature, it is a
poetic form or a poem that presents the
speech or conversation of a person in a
dramatic manner.
CAESURA: The word caesura comes
from the Latin word caedere, which means
“to cut. A caesura is a complete stop in a
line of poetry. A caesura can be anywhere
in a metrical line—it is called an initial
caesura if it occurs at or near the
beginning of the line, a medial caesura if
it is found in the middle of the line, and a
terminal caesura if it occurs near the end
of the line. Caesurae are usually marked by
a pair of parallel lines (“||”), called a
“double pipe” sign. It is easy to find
examples of caesura in famous speeches
and songs. This is because caesurae happen
naturally in regular speech patterns. We
often take breaths or change direction in
the middle of sentences, which gives rise
to caesura examples.
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TYPES OF POETRY
BALLAD: The word ballad is of French
provenance. It is a type of poetry
or verse which was basically used in dance
songs in ancient France. Later on, during
the late 16th and 17th centuries, it spread
over the majority of European nations.
They are the folk songs.
ELEGY (AĞIT): Elegy is a form of
literature that can be defined as a poem or
song in the form of elegiac couplets,
written in honor of someone deceased. It
typically laments or mourns the death of
the individual.
EPIC: The word epic is derived from the
Ancient Greek adjective, “epikos”, which
means a poetic story. In literature, an epic
is a long narrative poem, which is usually
related to heroic deeds of a person of an
unusual courage and unparalleled bravery.
In order to depict this bravery and courage,
the epic uses grandiose style.
HAIKU: A haiku is a short poetic form
from Japan characterized by juxtaposition,
seasonal imagery, and number of on,
which are similar to syllables. The form
has been adopted into other languages with
a focus on the number of syllables; in
English, haiku is a three-line poem with
phrases of five, seven, and five syllables,
respectively.
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LIMERICK: A limerick is a poetic form the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet and the
comprised of one stanza with five lines and English or Shakespearean sonnet. We will
a rhyme scheme of AABBA that usually is
look further into the differences between
humorous. The humor can be clean, though
it often verges on the obscene. these types of sonnet below.
The word sonnet comes from the Italian
Hickory dickory dock.
word sonneto, which means “a little
The mouse ran up the clock.
poem.”
The clock struck one,
And down he run.
Hickory dickory dock
ODE: An ode is a lyrical stanza written in
praise for a person, event, or thing. The
word ode comes originally from the Greek
word ᾠδή (ōidē), meaning “song.” The
definition of ode has thus clearly changed
over time, as now it is often used
colloquially to refer to any praise or DRAMA
glorification of an individual or thing. Drama is a type of narrative,
usually fictional, that is performed. Drama
PASTORAL: "Pastoral"
usually involves actors on stage in front of
(from pastor, Latin for "shepherd") refers
a live audience. Thus, as a narrative mode,
to a literary work dealing with shepherds
there is the assumption that drama requires
and rustic life. Pastoral poetry is highly
participation and collaboration between the
conventionalized; it presents an idealized
actors and the audience. It is, of course,
rather than realistic view of rustic life.
possible to read works of drama, yet the
SONNET: A sonnet is a poetic form that full expression of drama is in the context
has fourteen lines. It originated in Italy in of performance.
the thirteenth century, and though it has
generally kept some of the original rules, TYPES OF DRAMA
such as the number of lines and having a
specific rhyme scheme and meter, the Comedy – Comedies are lighter

conventions of sonnets have changed over in tone than ordinary works, and provide a

the centuries to some degree. There are happy conclusion. The intention of

two primary branches of the sonnet form— dramatists in comedies is to make their

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audience laugh. Hence, they use quaint
circumstances, unusual characters, and
witty remarks.
Tragedy – Tragic dramas use darker
themes, such as disaster, pain, and death.
Protagonists often have a tragic flaw — a
characteristic that leads them to their
downfall. There are important terms for
Aristotle Tragedy. These are:
Hamartia: Aristotle discusses hamartia in
Poetics not as an aspect of character but
rather as an incident in the plot. What
Aristotle means by hamartia might better
be translated as "tragic error". Caught in a
crisis situation, the protagonist makes
an error in judgment or action, "missing
the mark," and disaster results.
Anagnorisis: In Aristotelian definition of
tragedy it was the discovery of one's
own identity or true character or of
someone else's identity or true nature the
tragic hero. In his Poetics, Aristotle
defined anagnorisis as "a change from
ignorance to knowledge, producing love or
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MODADİL MALATYA
hate between the persons destined by the
poet for good or bad fortune".
Peripetia: Aristotle defines it as "a change
by which the action veers round to
itsopposite, subject always to our rule of
probability or necessity." According to
Aristotle, peripeteia, along with discovery,
is the most effective when it comes to
drama, particularly in a tragedy.
Peripeteia is the reversal from one state of
affairs to its opposite. Some element
in the plot effects a reversal, so that the
hero who thought he was in good shape
suddenly finds that all is lost, or vice versa.
Catharsis: Aristotle describes catharsis as
the purging of the emotions of pity and
fear that are aroused in the viewer of a
tragedy. Debate continues about what
Aristotle actually means by catharsis, but
the concept is linked to the positive social
function of tragedy. Aristotle writes that
the function of tragedy is to arouse the
emotions of pity and fear, and to affect the
catharsis of these emotions.
Hubris: Hubris is an extreme expression
of pride or self-confidence in a character.
In Greek mythology and drama, hubris was
an affront to the gods, as no mortal should
believe himself to be more powerful than
the gods, nor defy them. Therefore, Greek
ELT ÖABT& ENGİN HOCA LITERARY GENRES AND FORMS REVISION MODADİL MALATYA

gods often punished characters who skillful exploitation of a situation.

displayed hubris. Farce examples also often occur in
just one place where all the events
Pathos: Pathos is one of the three means
occur.
of persuasion that Aristotle discussed in his
• Melodrama – Melodrama is an
text Rhetoric. The definition of pathos
exaggerated drama, which is
shows that it is an emotive mode of
sensational and appeals directly to
persuasion, whereas logos (the appeal to
the senses of the audience. Just like
logic) and ethos (the appeal to ethics) are
the farce, the characters are of a
not emotive. The word pathos comes from
single dimension and simple, or
the Greek word pathea, meaning
may be stereotyped.
“suffering” or “experience.”
• Musical Drama – In musical
dramas, dramatists not only tell
• Tragicomedy: Tragicomedy is a
their stories through acting and
literary device used in fictional
dialogue, but through dance as well
works. It contains
as music. Often the story may be
both tragedy and comedy. Mostly,
comedic, though it may also
the characters in tragicomedy are
involve serious subjects
exaggerated, and sometimes there
might be a happy ending after a • Mystery plays were stories taken
series of unfortunate events. It is from the Bible. Each play had four
incorporated with jokes throughout or five different scenes or acts. The
the story, just to lighten the tone. priests and monks were the actors.
Each scene or act was preformed at
• Farce – Generally, a farce is a
a different place in town and the
nonsensical genre of drama, which
people moved from one stage to the
often overacts or engages
next to watch the play. The play
slapstick humor. A farce is a
usually ended outside the church so
lighthearted comedy that centers
that the people would go to church
around a ridiculous plot that usually
and hear a sermon after watching
involves exaggerated and
the play.
improbable events. Farces usually
do not have much character • The Miracle play was about the
development, but instead rely on life or actions of a saint, usually
absurdity, physical humor, and a about the actions that made that
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person a saint. One popular Miracle and relations of ladies and

play was about Saint George and gentlemen living in a sophisticated
the dragon. society. This form relies upon high
comedy, derived from sparkle and
• Morality plays were designed to
wit of dialogues, violations of
teach people a lesson in how to live
social traditions, and good
their life according to the rules of
manners, by nonsense characters
the church. Sometimes these plays
like jealous husbands, wives, and
had elaborate sets, sometimes no
foppish dandies. We find its use in
sets at all. It didn't seem to matter.
Restoration dramatists, particularly
The people attended these plays.
in the works of Wycherley and
They didn't have to, but it was a
Congreve.
break from their normal daily lives.
• Sentimental Comedy:
• Interlude: An interlude is a literary
Sentimental drama contains both
device used by authors/dramatist to
comedy and sentimental tragedy. It
provide comic relief to the audience
appears in literary circles due to
from an overpowering tragic or
reaction of the middle class against
gloomy mood created by highly
obscenity and indecency of
tragic scenes. The interlude may be
Restoration Comedy of Manners.
totally in contrast to the tragic
This form, which incorporates
mood but in some or the other way
scenes with extreme emotions
still be connected to the main
evoking excessive pity, gained
theme of the play.
popularity among the middle class

• Masque: especially popular in the audiences in the eighteenth century.

reigns of Elizabeth I, James I and
• Closet Drama: Closet dramas are
Charles I, ıt was a form of
plays that have been written to be
enjoyment that have a combination
read, but not performed. Their
of poetic drama, sond, dance and
value is in the play itself, not in the
music. It was a courtly
performance of the play. This art
entartainment.
form was popularized in the

• Comedy of Manners: This form of Romantic era by such writers as

dramatic genre deals with intrigues Robert Browning and Goethe.

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1 3

2
4

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6 9

10
7

11

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12 15

13

16

14

1 E 2A 3E 4A 5D 6C 7C 8B 9E 10E 11D
12C 13C 14C 15A 16B

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